Wouldnt it be nice to see one of these beasts run a freight across the wasatch again. Just once a year would be great.
Welcome to Trainboard, Run8 Definitely that would be a big railfan event! I would love to see and hear one - must sound a bit like a jet engine, I guess.
Their horrendous noise was why they were barred from operating anywhere near Los Angeles, San Francisco, or similar metropolitan areas. I believe they were only used in desolate unpopulated districts such as those in Wyoming and Utah.
Thanks for the welcome allan. Nice pix john, I also have pix of 26 at Ogden. Shure wish I could have seen one running.
Most definately!!! Heard a story once where UP parked one under a small rural bridge. Got so hot it melted the pavement on the bridge.
Have seen the engine at Union Il. Unfortunatley th turbine engine is gone. The exhaust opening on the back is huge. I climbed the tender to take a look. They do a nice job of keeping the engine painted and it is displayed very proudly. I need to get out there this summer with my new digi cam. Steve
John, I also heard the story. Seems the hogger parked the big blow exhaust stack under a overpass. It blew a hole the size of the stack right through the whole overpass. I wonder if it took a car to find the hole.
Alan, I believe the upper photo was taken at the Illinois Train Museum, which has an obscenely large collection of hardware, many of which are operational. Although, sadly, not X-18...
What was the downfall of these monsters? Fuel consumption? Maintenance? Or both? Is the other one intact? Or is the turbine also missing there? Boxcab E50
I believe the fuel used (buncer c) was a byproduct of manufacturing diesel fuel and was very cheap. Then it was used for making plastics and was not cheap anymore. Steve
Steve, I think that was the reason I had heard, and as these machines were real fuel guzzlers, that was their downfall.
Their fuel consumption was amost as bad at idle as at full throttle. The heavy fuel oil they used had to be heated in the tender to keep it flowing. Must have been some nasty stuff...
Bunker C is also what the NAvy ran on until like the 50s or 60s right? I have a recollection of reading about the Iowa class battleships when they were rebuilt in the early 80s they were converted from Bunker C to Navy Distillate.
Fellas, I lived in Laramie when these monsters were running over Sherman Hill. Back in those days the rumor was that the UP could not find a train heavy enough that could not be handled by a Big Blow but on the down side, if the turbine malfunctioned while out on the road, you had a big problem with no other units in the consist. With multiple diesels you can isolate a no-loading loco and try to limp on down the line. J Nutt
